Surah Naml ayat 42 Tafsir Quran 27:42

﴿فَلَمَّا جَاءَتْ قِيلَ أَهَٰكَذَا عَرْشُكِ ۖ قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ ۚ وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ﴾
[ النمل: 42]

27:42 So when she arrived, it was said [to her], "Is your throne like this?" She said, "[It is] as though it was it." [Solomon said], "And we were given knowledge before her, and we have been Muslims [in submission to Allah].

So when she came it was said to her ‘Is your throne like this?’ She said ‘It as though it is the one’. She had in fact recognised it; but she made a pretence to them just as they made a pretence to her given that when she was asked about the throne it was not said ‘Is this your throne?’ for had it been so she would have replied ‘Yes it is’. When Solomon realised that she was perceptive and knowledgeable he said ‘And we were given the knowledge before her and we had submitted to God.

And when she arrived -and was welcomed by Sulayman- she was asked: Does your throne look like this! It certainly looks, she said, as if it were it And with Allahs mercy and grace, said Sulayman to his retinue, we were given the divine knowledge which is the spirit of truth guiding us into all truth long before her and by consequence we conformed to Allahs system of faith and worship, we conformed to Islam

The Test of Bilqis When Sulayman brought the throne of Bilqis before she and her people arrived, he issued orders that some of its features should be altered, so that he could test her and see whether she recognized it and how composed she would be when she saw it.
Would she hasten to say either that it was her throne or that it was not So he said: نَكِّرُواْ لَهَا عَرْشَهَا نَنظُرْ أَتَهْتَدِى أَمْ تَكُونُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ( Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will be guided, or she will be one of those not guided. ) Ibn `Abbas said: "Remove some of its adornments and parts." Mujahid said: "He issued orders that it should be changed, so whatever was red should be made yellow and vice versa, and whatever was green should be made red, so everything was altered." `Ikrimah said, "They added some things and took some things away." Qatadah said, "It was turned upside down and back to front, and some things were added and some things were taken away." فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْ قِيلَ أَهَكَذَا عَرْشُكِ ( So when she came, it was said: "Is your throne like this" ) Her throne, which had been altered and disguised, with some things added and others taken away, was shown to her.
She was wise and steadfast, intelligent and strong-willed.
She did not hasten to say that this was her throne, because it was far away from her.
Neither did she hasten to say that it was not her throne, when she saw that some things had been altered and changed.
She said, كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ ( (It is ) as though it were the very same.
) This is the ultimate in intelligence and strong resolve. وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ ( Knowledge was bestowed on us before her, and we had submitted to Allah. ) Mujahid said, "This was spoken by Sulayman." وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـفِرِينَ ( And Saddaha that which she used to worship besides Allah has prevented her, for she was of a disbelieving people. ) This is a continuation of the words of Sulayman -- according to the opinion of Mujahid and Sa`id bin Jubayr, may Allah be pleased with them both -- i.e., Sulayman said: وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ ( Knowledge was bestowed on us before her, and we had submitted to Allah. ) and what stopped her from worshipping Allah alone was مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـفِرِينَ ( that which she used to worship besides Allah, for she was of a disbelieving people. ) What Mujahid and Sa`id said is good; it was also the view of Ibn Jarir.
Then Ibn Jarir said, "It could be that the subject of the verb. وَصَدَّهَا ( And Saddaha ) refers to Sulayman or to Allah, so that the phrase now means: مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ( She would not worship anything over than Allah. ) إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـفِرِينَ ( for she was of a disbelieving people. ) I say: the opinion of Mujahid is supported by the fact that she declared her Islam after she entered the Sarh, as we shall see below. قِيلَ لَهَا ادْخُلِى الصَّرْحَ فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ حَسِبَتْهُ لُجَّةً وَكَشَفَتْ عَن سَاقَيْهَا ( It was said to her: "Enter As-Sarh" but when she saw it, she thought it was a pool, and she (tucked up her clothes ) uncovering her legs.) Sulayman had commanded the Shayatin to build for her a huge palace of glass beneath which water was flowing.
Anyone who did not know the nature of the building would think that it was water, but in fact there was a layer of glass between a person walking and the water. Verily, it is a Sarh Mumarrad of Qawarir Sarh means a palace or any lofty construction. Allah says of Fir`awn -- may Allah curse him -- that he said to his minister Haman: ابْنِ لِى صَرْحاً لَّعَـلِّى أَبْلُغُ الاٌّسْبَـبَ ( Build me a Sarh that I may arrive at the ways. ) ( 40:36-37 ) Sarh is also used to refer to the high constructed palaces in Yemen.
Mumarrad means sturdily constructed and smooth. مِّن قَوارِيرَ ( of Qawarir ) means, made of glass, i.e., it was built with smooth surfaces.
Marid is a fortress in Dawmat Al-Jandal.
What is meant here is that Sulayman built a huge, lofty palace of glass for this queen, in order to show her the greatness of his authority and power.
When she saw for herself what Allah had given him and how majestic his position was, she submitted to the command of Allah and acknowledged that he was a noble Prophet, so she submitted to Allah and said: رَب إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى ( My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, ) meaning, by her previous disbelief and Shirk and by the fact that she and her people had worshipped the sun instead of Allah. وَأَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمَـنَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ( and I submit, together with Sulayman to Allah, the Lord of all that exists. ) meaning, following the religion of Sulayman, worshipping Allah alone with no partner or associate, Who created everything and measured it exactly according to its due measurements.

(27:42) When the queen arrived, she was asked, "Is your throne like this`?" She replied, "It is just the same. *52 We had already known this and we had surrendered (or we had become Muslims). " *53

So when she arrived, it was said meaning

*52) This also refutes the speculations of those people who depict the event in :t manner as though the Prophet Solomon wanted to have u throne made for the queen and for this purpose he invited tenders and a strong, robust artisan offered to make hint a throne in the matter of a few hours, but ,n expert craftsman submitted that he could make and produce it in no time.
This w hole guess-work is destroyed by the tact that Solomon himself ordered the throne to be fetched before him ( v.
381,, and when it had been fetched, ordered his servants to set it before the queen casually Iv.
41 ), and then when she arrived, she was asked whetlter her throne was like that ( v.
42 ), and she answered, " It is just the same. " Obviously, there could he no room for the absurd interpretations in the face of such a clear statement of facts.
If there is still any doubt left, it can be satisfied by the next sentence.

*53) That is, " Even before we saw this miracle we had been convinced by what we had heard of Solomon ( peace be upon him ) that he was a Prophet of Allah, and not merely a ruler of a kingdom. " After seeing the throne and saying, " It is just the same ", what could be the relevance of adding this sentence if it is supposed that the Prophet Solomon had got a throne manufactured and set the same before her? Even if it is supposed that no effort was spared to have a throne manufactured closely resembling the queen's what special excellence it could have to make a sun- worshipping queen exclaim " We had already known this and we had become Muslims! "
 

The Test of Bilqis When Sulayman brought the throne of Bilqis before she and her people arrived, he issued orders that some of its features should be altered, so that he could test her and see whether she recognized it and how composed she would be when she saw it.
Would she hasten to say either that it was her throne or that it was not So he said: نَكِّرُواْ لَهَا عَرْشَهَا نَنظُرْ أَتَهْتَدِى أَمْ تَكُونُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ( Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will be guided, or she will be one of those not guided. ) Ibn `Abbas said: "Remove some of its adornments and parts." Mujahid said: "He issued orders that it should be changed, so whatever was red should be made yellow and vice versa, and whatever was green should be made red, so everything was altered." `Ikrimah said, "They added some things and took some things away." Qatadah said, "It was turned upside down and back to front, and some things were added and some things were taken away." فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْ قِيلَ أَهَكَذَا عَرْشُكِ ( So when she came, it was said: "Is your throne like this" ) Her throne, which had been altered and disguised, with some things added and others taken away, was shown to her.
She was wise and steadfast, intelligent and strong-willed.
She did not hasten to say that this was her throne, because it was far away from her.
Neither did she hasten to say that it was not her throne, when she saw that some things had been altered and changed.
She said, كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ ( (It is ) as though it were the very same.
) This is the ultimate in intelligence and strong resolve. وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ ( Knowledge was bestowed on us before her, and we had submitted to Allah. ) Mujahid said, "This was spoken by Sulayman." وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـفِرِينَ ( And Saddaha that which she used to worship besides Allah has prevented her, for she was of a disbelieving people. ) This is a continuation of the words of Sulayman -- according to the opinion of Mujahid and Sa`id bin Jubayr, may Allah be pleased with them both -- i.e., Sulayman said: وَأُوتِينَا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ ( Knowledge was bestowed on us before her, and we had submitted to Allah. ) and what stopped her from worshipping Allah alone was مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـفِرِينَ ( that which she used to worship besides Allah, for she was of a disbelieving people. ) What Mujahid and Sa`id said is good; it was also the view of Ibn Jarir.
Then Ibn Jarir said, "It could be that the subject of the verb. وَصَدَّهَا ( And Saddaha ) refers to Sulayman or to Allah, so that the phrase now means: مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ( She would not worship anything over than Allah. ) إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـفِرِينَ ( for she was of a disbelieving people. ) I say: the opinion of Mujahid is supported by the fact that she declared her Islam after she entered the Sarh, as we shall see below. قِيلَ لَهَا ادْخُلِى الصَّرْحَ فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ حَسِبَتْهُ لُجَّةً وَكَشَفَتْ عَن سَاقَيْهَا ( It was said to her: "Enter As-Sarh" but when she saw it, she thought it was a pool, and she (tucked up her clothes ) uncovering her legs.) Sulayman had commanded the Shayatin to build for her a huge palace of glass beneath which water was flowing.
Anyone who did not know the nature of the building would think that it was water, but in fact there was a layer of glass between a person walking and the water. Verily, it is a Sarh Mumarrad of Qawarir Sarh means a palace or any lofty construction. Allah says of Fir`awn -- may Allah curse him -- that he said to his minister Haman: ابْنِ لِى صَرْحاً لَّعَـلِّى أَبْلُغُ الاٌّسْبَـبَ ( Build me a Sarh that I may arrive at the ways. ) ( 40:36-37 ) Sarh is also used to refer to the high constructed palaces in Yemen.
Mumarrad means sturdily constructed and smooth. مِّن قَوارِيرَ ( of Qawarir ) means, made of glass, i.e., it was built with smooth surfaces.
Marid is a fortress in Dawmat Al-Jandal.
What is meant here is that Sulayman built a huge, lofty palace of glass for this queen, in order to show her the greatness of his authority and power.
When she saw for herself what Allah had given him and how majestic his position was, she submitted to the command of Allah and acknowledged that he was a noble Prophet, so she submitted to Allah and said: رَب إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى ( My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, ) meaning, by her previous disbelief and Shirk and by the fact that she and her people had worshipped the sun instead of Allah. وَأَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمَـنَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ( and I submit, together with Sulayman to Allah, the Lord of all that exists. ) meaning, following the religion of Sulayman, worshipping Allah alone with no partner or associate, Who created everything and measured it exactly according to its due measurements.

( So, when she came, it was said (unto her )) Solomon said to her: ( Is thy throne like this? She said: (It is ) as though it were the very one. And ( Solomon said ): We were given the knowledge before her) Allah has given me [ knowledge ], by changing her throne and bringing to me, even before she arrived, ( and we had surrendered (to Allah )) and we were sincere before she arrived.

So when she came, it was said (to her): "Is your throne like this?" She said: "(It is) as though it were the very same." And [Sulaiman (Solomon) said]: "Knowledge was bestowed on us before her, and we were submitted to Allah (in Islam as Muslims before her)."

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